Obesity is now a common disorder in the industrialized as well as in the developing countries. It is estimated that somewhere between 34 and 61 million people in the USA are obese and in much of the developing countries the incidence is increasing by about 1% per year. It is responsible for various adverse effects on health being associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality from diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and certain forms of cancer.
There are only two drugs currently available for the long term treatment of obesity in United States. One of these, sibutramine (Ryan, D. H., Kaiser, P., Bray, G. A. Obes. Res. 1995, 3:553S-9S; Jones, S. P., Smith, I. G., Kelly, F., Gray, J. A. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995, 19:41), the only FDA approved drug, suppresses appetite by altering norepinephrine and 5HT metabolism in the brain. The other drug, orlistat (Int J Obes Relat Metab disord 1997, 21:S12-S23), reduces fat absorption by inhibiting gastric, pancreatic and other gastrointestinal lipases. The results of long-term clinical trials, extensive information of clinical effectiveness and side effects, however indicate that both of these drugs are of limited efficacy (Hill, J. O., Haupman, J., Asnderson, J. W. Am J Clin Nutr 1999, 69:1108-16; Sjostrom, L., Rissanen, A., Anderson, T. Lancet 1998, 352:167-172; Davidson, M. H., Hauptman, J., DiGirolamo, M. etal, J Am Med Assoc 1999, 281:235-42; Hollander, P. A., Elbein, S. C., Hirsch, I. B. etal Diabetes Care 1998, 21:1288-94; Kaiser, P. E. & Hinson, J. L. J Clin. Pharmacol 1994, 34, 1019; Bray, G. A. Obes Res 7, 1999, 189-198; Fanghanel, G., Cortinas, L., Sanchez-Reyes, L., Berber, A., Int. J. Obes. 2000, 24(2), 144-150; Cuellar, Guillermina, Elisa Martinez; Ruiz, Alberto Martinez; Monsalve, Maria Cristina Revilla, Berber, Arturo, Obes. Res. 2000, 8(1), 71-82).